City of Grit and Gold A Companion to the Novel

allium press of Allium Press of Chicago Forest Park, www.alliumpress.com

Compiled by Emily Victorson

© 2017 Allium Press of Chicago All rights reserved This guide may be reproduced for educational purposes only. The novel City of Grit and Gold is not intended to be a definitive resource on the . Instead, it provides a window into that time in Chicago’s history through the experiences of a young Jewish girl.

If you would like more information about the Haymarket Affair, and Jewish life in Chicago during that time, please explore the resources provided in this guide. You will also find questions that will help you have a discussion about the book, along with a list of similar novels that you might also enjoy.

Addie’s World

For images related to City of Grit and Gold—of Chicago in the 1880s, the Haymarket Affair, hats, sweatshops and their workers, etc.—visit our Pinterest page for this book. https://www.pinterest.com/alliumpress/city-of-grit-and-gold

1 Discussion Questions

1. What are some of the details of daily life in 1886 Chicago that you learned about from reading this book? How is Addie’s world similar to yours and how is it different? If you went back in time to 1886, what would you miss from your own time? 2. How did Addie grow and change throughout the book? 3. Why did Papa and Uncle Chaim feel so differently about working conditions? 4. Draw a family tree for Addie’s family and discuss their relationships. How are Addie’s relationships with her various family members similar to yours? How are they different? 5. What do you think of the author’s use of combined words (quiet-cold, bossy-loud) to describe the different character’s voices? 6. What are some of the words in the book that were unfamiliar to you? Do you think those are words we still use today or are they more historical? 7. What kinds of things did Addie and her family do for fun? Are any of their activities like ones that you enjoy? 8. What did Addie learn about other people’s lives when she went to the sweatshop and the Russian family’s apartment? How did their hardships compare to the troubles her family faced? Do you think Addie thought of her own family as poor? 9. Do you think that you would have been friends with Addie if you lived in her time and place? 10. Compare the relationship between the police and protestors during the Haymarket Affair to recent events. 11. Compare the 1880s fight for the eight-hour day to today’s efforts to raise the minimum wage. 12. What do you think the title City of Grit and Gold refers to? 13. There is a Hebrew term, mitzvah, which refers to an act of kindness, or charitable act. Addie takes numerous risks to help people in the book—going to the sweatshop to get the doctor for David, visiting the Russian family with Mrs. Raczynski, helping to fix Michael’s dislocated arm. Can you think of a time when you had to choose between doing something for yourself and doing something to benefit another person? How did you decide what to do? How did you feel about your choice? 14. Addie’s family came from Germany, and many families from other countries moved to the United States around the same time. Do you know where your family came from? How do you think you could find out? If any of your family members are recent immigrants, ask them to tell you the story of their early days in America. 15. Addie’s experiences watching Dr. Goldstein at work—while he treats David and the young boy injured at the sweatshop—along with her own assistance with Michael’s dislocated shoulder, inspire her to think about maybe one day becoming a doctor, herself. What experiences have you had that make you think about possible jobs you might have in the future?

2 Read-Alikes

Her Mother’s Secret by Barbara Garland Polikoff Fifteen-year-old Sar